ImageOak

For information regarding removal of content please click here.

Q: I'm lost. How do I get back to the front page?

A: You can always go to the front page (the main index) by clicking the ImageOak logo in the top.

Q: Do you host any of the images?

A: No, none of the fullsize images are stored on our servers. When you click a thumbnailed image you are directed to the original webpage, just like when you use other types of search engines on the Internet.

Q: What about adult content?

A: All channels dealing with material of an adult nature must be placed in the "Mature Content" folder (or its subfolders). "Mature Content" is placed in the "More" category in the index. Channels with adult content that are created elsewhere in the index will either be moved to "Mature Content" or simply deleted. We do of course not accept links to illegal images.

Q: I have clicked on a thumbnail image in a channel, but I cannot find the image in the webpage I am directed to. Or I get a "404 page not found" error. Why is that?

A: We do not store any of the original images on our servers, only the thumbnails that are displayed when you view a channel. When you click on a thumbnail you are directed to the webpage containing the image, just like when you use a search engine to search for some specific word or phrase. Because the Internet is a dynamic place it can happen that the given webpage has been changed so it no longer contains the image, or maybe the webpage has been deleted so you get an error message.

It can however also be the case that the webpage has a text link to the image, i.e. the page might have a link called "click here for a picture of strawberries". So keep a lookout for links in the webpages, not just inline images.

Q: When I log in and go to my personal page, I can see a list of the channels I subscribe to. What do the numbers "New" and "Unique" to the left of the channel names mean?

A: The "New" number is the number of images posted to the channel since you last visited it (you must be logged in when you view the channel for the counter to be correct). Sometimes images are posted to a channel which already contains the images. You can filter these duplicates away be choosing the "Duplicates: Hide" option in the top green bar when you view a channel. The "Unique" number shows the number of new images with duplicates removed.

Q: It can happen the "New" and "Unique" numbers are too high, e.g. 1 even if there are no new images?

A: This might happen if we have deleted some images from the channel. We delete for example spam, or images that are clearly placed in the wrong channel.

Q: When I want to add some images, I have to enter the address of the webpage containing the pictures. Any tips to make this easier?

A: Yes. Suppose you have two browser windows open, one displaying the page with images you would like to add, and one displaying the field where you have to enter the address. You can then use the mouse to drag the address of the webpage and drop it in the URL box: Simply place the mouse pointer over the small icon to the left of the address in the browser's address line, click and hold the left mouse button, drag the address to the box, and release the left button. This works in most browsers.

You can of course also use normal "cut&paste" to fill in the URL.

Note that the easiest solution in most circumstances is to use a browser extension as explained here.

Q: When I navigate around some websites the URL in the browser's address bar never changes. How can I link to specific webpages on such a site?

A: A webpage can be divided into more parts or "windows" called frames. Each frame has its own URL. However the address bar in the browser only shows the URL of the collection of frames called the frameset.

Frames can sometimes be valuable to the design of a webpage. However they can also be problematic, and they break the idea that each webpage has a unique address, the URL, that you can link to from other pages or tell to a friend. The trouble is that if you click something in one frame, like a menu, it might change the content of another frame. And this is not reflected in the URL in the address bar. Therefore you cannot link to what you actually see on your screen. (And neither can a search engine!)

You can however link to a specific frame in the frameset. If you place the mouse pointer in a specific frame and click the right button, most browsers allow you to view that frame only (choose "view this frame only"). You can then see the URL of the frame in the address bar.

If you are navigating a page with frames you can also right-click on the links instead of the normal left-click. Most browsers then offers the option to "open link in new window", and you will be able to see the address of the frame. Another possibility is to drag (click and hold the left button) the link to the address bar of the browser, or to the URL field on ImageOak.

Note that the easiest solution in most circumstances is to use a browser extension as explained here.

Of course some pages turn out to be more or less impossible to link to. That's okay, there are plenty of other pages out there.

Q: When I have submitted an URL and view the images from that page, I am given the option to also see the "external images". What does this mean?

A: When you submit a webpage address our server at first only retrieves the images visible in the webpage. However, the webpage may also contain for example text links to images (e.g. "click here to view a picture of strawberries"). These are called external images.

Q: Some image which I can see on a webpage (or which I know the webpage links to) does not show up when ImageOak displays the images in the page. Why is the image missing?

A: It is possible the image is embedded in the page in a way that our software does not support, e.g. if the page uses Flash. Because webpages are primarily intended to be viewed with a browser and can be very complex, some do not work well together with other services on the Internet like ImageOak and search engines.

It is also possible the webpage simply contains too many images. After a certain number of images has been read from a page our server ignores the rest.